31 May 2010

Report: Tokyo Food Bar in Akiba

Some weeks ago, "Tokyo Food Bar"(TFB) at the JR-Akihabara station officially opened.

The premises of TFB was formerly a casual food court which closed for renovation since the beginning of this year.

(Photo: renovation was in progress)

Let's see what it looks like after renovation. Here's my impression and report.

[Atmosphere: ****] TFB is still a self-service food court. Compared to the former food court, the interior of TFB is much better and sophisticated. Apparently, it is aiming for the upmarket segments, I think.

[Foods: ****+]TFB has 7 stalls(Udon stall, Soba stall, bakery cafe, Tomkatsu stall, curry stall, small bar, and Rahmen stall). Firstly, I definitely recommend TFB. The menu is reasonably priced and all the items I tried are very delicious.

First, I tried a Zarusoba (cold noodles). It costs only JPY390.

It's really delicious and inexpensive. I feel that the Zarusoba here is the best in the Akihabara area.

My second favourite is the Hire-katsu-don(i.e. fillet tonkatsu donburi rice bowl). It costs only JPY750.

The katsu-don tasted really authentic. The tonkatsu itself is very soft and sweet. When I bit into the tonkatsu in one, I reflexively uttered "Umai![delicious]".

[English availability: *] The food is really excellent as I wrote above. But I think that TFB does not have the foreign visitor in mind. There are no English menus/signs. Most Japanese foods stalls offer chopsticks only. Moreover, TFB removed the ticket vending machines which the former food court had. So you must say give orders like "Zarusoba/Udon/Katsudon kudasai".

[Overall: ***+] If you have some basic Japanese spoken/read skill, I absolutely recommend TFB. But if you don't have, you need to try to learnign some basic Japanese.